'71 (2014)

I've been reading the biography of Gerry Adams, which I acquired quite a long time ago, but just got aroudn to reading now, and I stumbled upon this film two days ago, which covered the same topic as the portion of Gerry Adams biography. So I knew I had to watch it immeidately, and I was able to find it for free on Hulu. Very convenient. The film does a great job of portraying the turmoil that was taking place in Northern Ireland during this time period. Also, it really captured the feel of the 70s, which I was quite surprised by. I would have though the film was actually made in the 70s, except for how clear the picture was. The look of the houses, especially their interiors, furniture and even wallpaper and the clothes the people wore all seemed to be right out of the 70s. One thing that I did wonder about was that the accents didn't sound very Irish to me. Of course I am no expert on Irish accents, and perhaps they are played up a bit in other films, but again they didn't stand out as sounding very Irish, but then again, the also didn't sound like the fake accents you often hear in American films. Wild Mountain Thyme, I'm talking to you. Also, I wondered about the title of the film, '71, which is so vague that no one would know what the film was about, from the title alone. I would think it might have been connected the the Ballymurphy Massacre, thought that event was not pictured, nor alluded to in the film. Or perhaps it is supposed to have taken place before the Ballymurphy Massacre, as it seems to depict the conditions in Northern Ireland just as they have taken a turn for the worst.